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You are here: Home / Archives for miniatures

Wooden Furniture for Little Z

September 24, 2016 at 9:47 am by Claudia

Since that horrible dream left me feeling rather melancholy yesterday, I took control and sought refuge in photography. I find that if I can get outside and take photos, I see the world differently. I see my own situation differently. I captured lots of lovely images yesterday which I will be sharing with you over the next several days, including a treasure trove of birds at the birdbath. Goodness, they were active!

Also contributing to my mood change was a package that arrived in the mail for Little Z’s dollhouse. As you know, I’ve been contemplating what furniture – and it needed to be sturdy wooden furniture – to buy. Z is five years old, smart as a whip, and as determined as can be. He also walks with canes because of his disability and is working on using both hands equally. I wanted the furniture to be effortless for him, nothing that can break.

One day, I searched on Etsy and found this shop: upperairs. It’s David DiBenedetto’s shop and he handcrafts this dollhouse furniture. It was reasonably priced and was just what I wanted. And I love to support small businesses.

I was thrilled when I opened the package.

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It’s as if it were designed by IKEA for this house.

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The living room. Sofa, chair, fireplace, table, grandfather clock and television. I laughed out loud when I saw what was playing on the television! That’s Z’s favorite. He loves, loves, loves Mickey.

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Kitchen: None of the doors open. Did you notice the faucet? It’s a cup hook. The table might be a bit too tall, I’ll have to think about that one.

Just like the kitchen in my dollhouse – the hardest room to photograph.

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Bathroom.

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Bedroom.

Don thinks I should leave the furniture unpainted because it goes so well with the house. I must confess, I’m not sure what to do. I am planning on making some cushions for the furniture and the bed.

Do I paint the furniture? Do I leave it as is until he decides what he wants? Do I put temporary wallpaper up that he could pull down if he wants to?

Meredith says that either way would be great, but she suspects I’d have more fun painting the furniture.

I’m going to think about it for a day or two and then I have to make a decision.

This furniture is so well made and it’s sturdy. Z can handle it, knock it around, move it in and out of the house without any worries about breakage. I want him to be able to do whatever he wants with the house.

Your thoughts?

I have one bird photo to share with you today – I saw this guy looking for food at the entrance to the big corral:

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What a beauty!

Happy Saturday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

 

 

Filed Under: birds, dollhouse, etsy, Little Z, miniatures 68 Comments

A Co-op, Some Sweet Corn, and Some Minis

August 28, 2016 at 9:53 am by Claudia

Two Sleepy People. That’s the name of a wonderful old standard by Hoagy Carmichael and Frank Loesser. That’s also the name of Don and Claudia at the moment. Both of us are more than a bit sleep deprived and it continues into today. Yesterday, I was determined to do something, despite exhaustion, so we got in the car and drove to a neighboring town that has a Food Co-op that I had just learned about via Instagram. We’ve lived here nearly 11 years and for some reason it wasn’t on my radar.

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Isn’t this the neatest little store you ever did see? It’s packed with fresh vegetables and healthy food. I stopped counting at 8 different kinds of potatoes. We were gobsmacked by the variety there.

I think we’ll probably join the co-op because we miss belonging to a co-op. We used to belong to one when we were living in San Diego. We’re certainly going to be shopping there on a regular basis.

What’s not to love? We drive through a countryside full of charming and funky homes, farms, winding roads, with mountains in the distance and we end up here.

On the way back home, we stopped for fresh sweet corn at our local farm stand. It’s truly the best corn I’ve ever had and I’ve lived a lot of places! We came home, had a yummy dinner and watched…you guessed it…another episode of Inspector Morse.

Try to contain your excitement.

In the mail yesterday: the newest Squint Box.

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The theme this month is A Mini Affair.

A Victoria’s Secret bag, a piece of Chocolate Opera Cake made by miniaturist Pei Li, a mini package, and an Italian Pasta Plate.

Wait! Do I see something in that Victoria’s Secret bag?

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Goodness me! Some frilly little unmentionables!

This monthly Squint Box shipment is always a delight.

T-minus 2 days and counting until I can purchase Louise Penny’s newest, A Great Reckoning. Yes, I know I can pre-order, but that’s not as fun! With a new book by one of my very favorite authors, I like to take part in my New Book Ritual: a drive to the bookstore, then a quick search for it on display, where I pick my very own copy, pay for it, and escort it back to the cottage.

Happy Sunday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Filed Under: books, food, miniatures 35 Comments

In the Mail

August 21, 2016 at 10:25 am by Claudia

Red and I have problems. I love  red, but photographing it is always problematical. Whether it’s a red rose or a red sofa (as you will soon see) I can never quite get the tint/shade right.

I got a package in the mail yesterday – all the way from Australia. Gabrielle, who made the sofa for Don’s mini studio, made another one in red. For me, not Don. It’s a deeper red, but heck if I can get it to register, no matter how much I tweak it on Lightroom.

So just know that the sofa has less of an orange tint and more of a deep cherry tint.

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Not quite right. But enough of that. Isn’t it beautiful?

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Here it is in the loft. It might be a bit too long for this house, but I’m currently saving up for another house, so it may move around. Trying to photograph the loft yesterday was equally frustrating. Maybe I’ve lost my mini photography mojo? It needs some pillows, so I just might have to trot over to Brae’s Etsy shop.

Also in the mail on Friday: some wallpaper for the newest project, the half-scale Fairfield.

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These are William Morris prints in half-scale, along with a tile I might be using (lower right hand corner.) ItsyBitsyMini, where I get all my mini wallpaper, has most of their designs available in half-scale and quarter-scale as well as 1:12 scale. And their customer service is great. These arrived with a slight crease/wrinkle, which limits what I can do with them. ItsyBitsyMini promptly responded and is sending new sheets next week. Thank you!

And to top off my ‘packages in the mail,’ a big, heavy box arrived yesterday. I wasn’t expecting anything other than the sofa so I was, to put it mildly, quite curious! It was from my friend Donna and her daughter Amanda – Amanda designed the Bedrooms coloring book, remember?

Inside was a thank you card and a gift for hosting the giveaway. It was my pleasure to host it, since I’ve known Donna for such a long time. And Amanda sent me my own copy of the coloring book, so I was quite happy.

Here is what I unwrapped:

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A vintage set of Shakespeare, illustrated and in three volumes, and edited by well-known Shakespearean scholar, A. L. Rowse. Oh, my heavens!

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It’s beautifully illustrated and includes photographs from various productions. I never see this set in any shop or used bookstore. But Donna and Amanda have serious junking/thrifting skills (Donna has an Etsy shop) and somehow she found this.

Thank you, dear Donna and Amanda. I’m thrilled to have this in my library and will treasure it always.

Two brief-ish book reviews on Just Let Me Finish This Page today. Stop by!

Happy Sunday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Filed Under: dollhouse, friends, gifts, life, miniatures 30 Comments

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Welcome!

Welcome!

I live in a little cottage in the country with my husband. It's a sweet place, sheltered by old trees and surrounded by gardens. The inside is full of the things we love. I love to write, I love my camera, I love creating, I love gardening. My decorating style is eclectic; full of vintage and a bit of whimsy.

I've worked in the theater for more years than I can count. I'm currently a voice, speech, dialect and text coach freelancing on Broadway, off Broadway, and in regional theater.

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